Ray Lewis wasn’t giving up, and he wasn’t about to let the Ravens quit
either.

“He told the whole team, ‘We’re going to win this game’,” linebacker
Terrell Suggs said. “You could see the truth in his eyes.”

Inspired by their emotional middle linebacker’s words, the Ravens scored 24
unanswered points in the final 16 minutes and rallied for a 37-27 win over the
up-and-down Cleveland Browns on Sunday.

Matt Stover kicked three field goals, rookie quarterback Joe Flacco threw
two touchdown passes and first-year running back Ray Rice ran for 154 yards to
lead the Ravens (5-3), who seemed to be in big trouble when they fell behind
27-13 in the third quarter. But with Lewis leading the way, Baltimore bounced
back and won its third straight.

Lewis refused to take credit for the comeback, but knew his comments
awakened the Ravens.

“I told every one of them, ‘Look me in the eye’,” Lewis said. “I told
them we are going to win this game. We have to believe that. Adversity builds
character.”

The Browns (3-5) had built their 14-point advantage thanks to return
specialist Joshua Cribbs’ 92-yard kickoff return for a TD, two scoring passes by
quarterback Derek Anderson and two field goals by Phil Dawson, who closed the
first half by banging a career-long 54-yarder through the uprights.

But Cleveland collapsed and no play hurt more than wide receiver Braylon
Edwards’ drop of a certain long touchdown early in the fourth quarter with the
score tied. By the time the ball slipped through his hands and fell to the
ground, the Browns’ promising season had fallen into serious jeopardy.

“We didn’t finish,” said running back Jamal Lewis, who was held to 49
yards on 19 attempts. “That’s the lesson of the day—finish.”’

Stover, who ranks fifth in league scoring history, made field goals of 41,
32 and 22 yards.

Flacco, who threw touchdown passes to Mark Clayton and Derrick Mason,
completed 17 of 29 passes for 248 yards. Mason, the sure-handed 13-year veteran,
had nine catches for 136 yards and Rice, filling in for the injured Willis
McGahee, had a breakout game that included a critical 60-yard run in the fourth
to set up Stover’s last field goal.

Flacco and Rice are getting better with each game, just as the Ravens had
hoped.

“When they get drafted by the Baltimore Ravens, we expect them to play like
that,” rookie coach John Harbaugh said. “Are we surprised? No.”

After Stover’s third field goal made it 30-27 with 5:36 left, the Ravens’
defense pressured Anderson, who threw the ball directly to Suggs. The linebacker
snared the gift and raced untouched to the end zone where he taunted Cleveland’s
famed Dawg Pound bleacher section with a spike and dance.

Anderson finished 17-of-33 for 219 yards but the Pro Bowler left the field
with Browns fans screaming “Bra-dy! Bra-dy!” for popular backup Brady Quinn.

“I didn’t want to hold onto it and take a sack,” Anderson said of his
ill-fated pass to Suggs. “I wish I would have handled that a little better, but
I’m trying to win games.”

Anderson may not have to worry about that pass if Edwards had come through.

After Flacco’s 28-yard TD pass to Mason tied it at 27, Edwards got behind
Baltimore’s secondary on third down but the talented wide receiver failed to
squeeze a perfectly thrown ball from Anderson while he was in full stride. It
was the latest drop by the Pro Bowler, who has been plagued by them all season.

Edwards declined interview requests afterward.

The play summed up Cleveland’s season, now on a downward spiral.

“It’s always deflating when you don’t make a play because we needed
plays,” Browns coach Romeo Crennel said. “It’s deflating when they run the
ball in for a touchdown. It’s deflating when they throw the ball over your head.
It’s deflating when you don’t make a catch in the open. It’s deflating when you
lose a game.”

The Ravens led 10-0 when Cribbs caught Stover’s kick at the 8 and took it
all the way back for his fifth career kickoff return for a TD and first this
season. Cribbs also brought a punt back 32 yards and finished with 278 return
yards—237 on kickoffs and 41 on punts.

The Ravens won despite missing three starters in their secondary as
Chris McAllister, Samari Rolle and Dawan Landry sat out with injuries. …
Stover played in his 279th game, tying him with Bruce Smith for 12th all-time
and he passed Jim Bakken for 13th place with 536 PATs. … Cribbs’ kickoff
return total was the second most in team history, behind only his 245 at
Baltimore last season. … Browns TE Kellen Winslow had five catches one week
after sitting out following a team-imposed, one-game suspension that was later
dropped. … Anderson had gone a career-best 132 passes without an interception
before Suggs’ pick. … Browns OG Eric Steinbach left with a rib injury in the
third quarter and did not return. … Following the game, Browns fans mingled
with 80,000 attendees at a rally for presidential candidate Barack Obama in
downtown Cleveland that included Bruce Springsteen.